Bruno, a male orangutan at the Los Angeles Zoo who charmed staff and visitors there for nearly three decades, has died. He was 42.
The zoo announced Bruno’s death on social media on Friday, saying “he passed away suddenly earlier this week.”
The cause of the orangutan’s death was not immediately known, but Bruno was considered to be at the “elder age scale,” according to the zoo. Further tests are pending.
Bruno arrived at the zoo in 1994 with an “enigmatic charm and docile spirit,” the zoo said, and became an ambassador who helped people care about orangutans and their plight in the wild. Native to the jungles of Indonesia and Malaysia, there are three species of orangutans, all of which are critically endangered.
Animal Keeper Megan Fox, in the zoo’s social media posts, said Bruno would spend each day making a surprise for the staff.
“He was a gentle and generous soul, almost always providing his keepers with a daily gift, a small creation he would craft during the day,” she said.